Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an information processing terminal, a management system, and a control method relating to displaying information about the remaining amount of a modeling material to be used in modeling by a three-dimensional (3D) printer.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, use of three-dimensional (3D) printers has been spreading rapidly. A 3D printer is a generic term for control apparatuses configured to model a three-dimensional object, which is a solid object. The technology relating to 3D modeling is also called additive manufacturing.
Although 3D printers have been used, they have rarely been put in the general market because most of them are large apparatuses for business use, highly specialized, and very expensive. However, recent technological advancements have enabled reduction in housing size and improvement in software operability, and less expensive 3D printers have been developed and can be used by general consumers. Further, 3D printers for business use have improved in performance and decreased in costs compared with conventional printers, so that many manufacturers now use 3D printers in the manufacture of prototypes and product parts.
Examples of modeling methods of three-dimensional printers include fused deposition modeling (FDM), stereo lithography (STL), selective laser sintering (SLS), and an inkjet method. Various types of materials are employed for modeling according to the respective modeling methods corresponding to the 3D printer model or the purpose of use of an object to be modeled. Examples of expendable parts for replenishing a 3D printer with a modeling material include a dedicated cartridge including a mechanism for outputting a modeling material, a filament modeling material wound around a core, and a container containing a liquid or powder modeling material.
3D printers generally include one to three print heads for outputting modeling materials. However, there are cases where the number of types of basic materials and colors of modeling materials that can be used in a single 3D printer is larger than the number of print heads. Accordingly, for example, in a case where the types of modeling materials to be used for an object are different from the types of modeling materials that are currently set to a 3D printer to be usable, a user needs to replace an expendable part before the modeling is carried out.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-64729 discusses a printing apparatus configured to perform printing on tapes. The printing apparatus presents a display to prompt a user to replace a consumable tape currently attached to the printing apparatus with another consumable tape when a print job cannot be executed due to a shortage in the remaining amount of the tape.
In the cases of the foregoing conventional techniques and the like, a plurality of replaced expendable parts that still include a usable modeling material may remain in user's hand. When a user is to model an object using such a replaced expendable part that still includes a usable modeling material, it is difficult for the user to intuitively grasp an object that can be modeled with the remaining amount of the modeling material. For example, in a case where “500 cm” of a modeling material in the form of a filament remains in an expendable part, it is difficult for the user to grasp the size and number of objects that can be modeled with the remaining amount of the modeling material. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-64729 described above does not consider a configuration of providing the user with information about a printing product that can be printed with a remaining amount of a tape in the expendable part that the printing apparatus prompts the user to replace.